Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General (A-G) in erstwhile Kufuor administration, Ayikoi Otoo, has taken a swipe at the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho, for declining to be sworn in as acting President of Ghana last week when President John Dramani Mahama and his Vice, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, were out of the country.
In an exclusive interview with Today, the astute lawyer described the action of the Speaker as �unconstitutional and bad judicial precedent.�
Although the former A-G noted Doe Adjaho�s refusal did not affect the administration of governance during that period, he said it was not good for �our fragile democracy.�
He supported his stance by quoting Article 60(11) of the 1992 Constitution which states that; �Where the President and the Vice-President are both unable to perform the functions of the President, the Speaker of Parliament shall perform those functions until the President or the Vice-President is able or a new President assumes office, as the case may be.�
He went on to cite a precedent in a case involving Kwaku Asare versus Attorney General in 2004 where the plaintiff�Kwaku Asare�challenged the afore-mentioned constitutional provision at the Supreme Court but the Supreme Court threw the case away.
And by that precedent the New Patriotic Party (NPP) legal luminary said the Speaker of Parliament �should have known better.�
According to him, the action of Doe Adjaho meant �we have two presidents, one functioning- President John Dramani Mahama, and one in waiting-President Edward Doe Adjaho.�
He, however, cautioned the general public and the media not to attack the Chief Justice for not performing her legal duties.
Meanwhile, he has chastised the leadership of the House for compromising on such a constitutional provision.
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